Nalli Jewellers, part of the Nalli Group known for the silk sari retail chain, plans to set up a jewellery production facility.
At present, the retailer sources jewellery from vendors across the country. But it plans to set up its own manufacturing unit at its property in Hosur.
An in-house Nalli brand of gold jewellery is on the cards in about a year and having an own factory will aid this. “We are assessing customer needs so that we can come out with appropriate designs,” says Niranth Nalli, Vice-Chairman.
Incidentally, Titan Industries’ jewellery division Tanishq also has a manufacturing unit in Hosur. The 85-year-old Nalli group entered jewellery retail business about eight months ago with a 35,000-sq ft store in Chennai. It had invested Rs 100 crore in the venture.
Nalli Jewellers also plans to set up more stores in Chennai this year. The second store is set to come up at Anna Nagar soon. In the next couple of years, it could look at stores in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. In the current financial year, the Nalli group is eyeing a turnover of Rs 700 crore, of which, 20 per cent is expected to come from the jewellery business.
The idea for jewellery retail emerged from a survey conducted by Kubos, a Chennai-based consultancy firm. “Consumers who bought saris for weddings from us were also looking for jewellery and we decided to leverage our brand-name in the jewellery business too,” says the 24-year-old, an engineer by education.
Niranth Nalli’s long-term dream is to enter hotels business, though there is no concrete plan as of now.
The Nalli group is expanding its silk saris business with three-four stores a year. It has 25 stores spread across the country and two in the US and Singapore.